The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to ponder the mission of Paul and the invitation of Jesus to consider the sign of Jonah as guide posts on our journey to fullness of life.
The reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans is an introductory salutation.
* [1:1] Slave of Christ Jesus: Paul applies the term slave to himself in order to express his undivided allegiance to the Lord of the church, the Master of all, including slaves and masters. “No one can serve (i.e., be a slave to) two masters,” said Jesus (Mt 6:24). It is this aspect of the slave-master relationship rather than its degrading implications that Paul emphasizes when he discusses Christian commitment.
* [1:3–4] Paul here cites an early confession that proclaims Jesus’ sonship as messianic descendant of David (cf. Mt 22:42; 2 Tm 2:8; Rev 22:16) and as Son of God by the resurrection. As “life-giving spirit” (1 Cor 15:45), Jesus Christ is able to communicate the Spirit to those who believe in him.
* [1:5] Paul recalls his apostolic office, implying that the Romans know something of his history. The obedience of faith: as Paul will show at length in chaps. 6–8 and 12–15, faith in God’s justifying action in Jesus Christ relates one to God’s gift of the new life that is made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the activity of the holy Spirit (see especially Rom 8:1–11).
* [1:7] Called to be holy: Paul often refers to Christians as “the holy ones” or “the saints.” The Israelite community was called a “holy assembly” because they had been separated for the worship and service of the Lord (see Lv 11:44; 23:1–44). The Christian community regarded its members as sanctified by baptism (Rom 6:22; 15:16; 1 Cor 6:11; Eph 5:26–27). Christians are called to holiness (1 Cor 1:2; 1 Thes 4:7), that is, they are called to make their lives conform to the gift they have already received. (Romans, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 98 praises the Judge of the World.
* [Psalm 98] A hymn, similar to Ps 96, extolling God for Israel’s victory (Ps 98:1–3). All nations (Ps 98:4–6) and even inanimate nature (Ps 98:7–8) are summoned to welcome God’s coming to rule over the world (Ps 98:9). (Psalms, PSALM 98 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus offers the Pharisees, the Sign of Jonah.
* [11:29–32] The “sign of Jonah” in Luke is the preaching of the need for repentance by a prophet who comes from afar. Cf. Mt 12:38–42 (and see notes there) where the “sign of Jonah” is interpreted by Jesus as his death and resurrection. (Luke, CHAPTER 11 | USCCB, n.d.)
David Crawford comments that these religiously devout individuals strictly adhered to the fine points of the Law of Moses, as they interpreted it; and they defended their faith by attacking others who they judged had violated Mosaic Law – a woman caught in adultery, Jesus healing on the Sabbath, etc. They equated legalistic purity with righteousness, and they considered their brand of righteousness to be sufficient. Paul, who in his early days had been on a similar path, writes that he had traded “the self-achieved righteousness of the Law” for “that genuine righteousness which comes from faith in Christ” (from Philippians 3:6-9, J. B. Phillips translation of New Testament).
Those of us who know God can sometimes forget that our knowledge of God is not exhaustive, that even the most brilliant among us do not know why or how or when God does what He does. The Messiah who came not to condemn but to save (John 3:17) can turn even the most zealous adversaries into vigorous advocates, like He did with the Apostle Paul. God can redeem even the ones we judge to be most sinful. Our call, then, is to think big. God may not do what we thought should be done, but He will always exceed our expectations. As J. B. Phillips stated, “We can never have too big a conception of God.” (Crawford, 2023)
Don Schwager quotes “The sign of Jonah,” by an anonymous early author from the Greek church.
"'What is the sign of Jonah? The stumbling block of the cross. So it is not the disputers of knowledge who will be saved but those who believe true teaching. For the cross of Christ is indeed a stumbling block to those who dispute knowledge but salvation to those who believe. Paul testifies to this: 'But we, for our part, preach the crucified Christ - to the Jews indeed a stumbling block and to the Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God' (1 Corinthians 1:23-24). Why do the Jews seek signs and the Greeks seek wisdom? God pointed to the sign of the stumbling block of the cross to both the Jews and the Greeks. Thus those who wish to find Christ not through faith but through wisdom will perish on the stumbling block of foolishness. Those who wish to know the Son of God not through faith but through a demonstration of signs will remain trapped in their disbelief, falling on the stumbling block of his death. It is no small wonder that the Jews, considering the death of Christ, thought he was merely a man, when even Christians - as they purport to be but really are not - because of his death are reluctant to declare the only begotten, the crucified, as incomparable majesty." (excerpt from INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 30, the Greek fathers). (Schwager, 2019)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Romans 1:1-7 comments that most Christian believers today are Gentiles. We often overlook how radical this belief was at the time of the early Church. Jews didn’t share meals with Gentiles or enter their homes. They viewed them as outsiders to God’s covenant, unclean, and allied with their oppressors. So the idea of Jews and Gentiles being one people defied logic, and living it out required real humility. Even more, it required the grace and power that flowed from the death and resurrection of Jesus. (Meditation on Romans 1:1-7, n.d.)
St. Paul understood God’s longing for everyone he created to belong to Jesus. God makes space in his heart for each and every one of us. He will continually call us until “All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God” (Psalm 98:3). He will pursue every lost sheep until he finds them.
Jesus is calling out to you today. He invites you to come close to him in prayer, to enter his presence with all your brothers and sisters. He has made you his own; he has overcome every obstacle and bridged every division. You belong. Don’t let anything keep you away.
“Thank you, Jesus, for welcoming me into your family. Help me to love all your children.” (Meditation on Romans 1:1-7, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler notes that the Letter to the Romans was written by Paul towards the end of his career with special attention to the Jewish Christian community in Rome, perhaps to enlist their support in his struggle with the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. An early heresy known as “adoptionionism” may be connected to questions about when Jesus became God that are referenced in this letter. Friar Jude related the conversion of Nineveh to the “sign of Jonah” alluded to by Jesus, “Wisdom Incarnate”, in the Gospel of Luke.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, writes about how we can help mend the breach between the world as it is (power) and the world as it could be (love).
Perhaps one way of stating the “spiritual emergency” that Christianity faces is that many clergy and church membership were trained from the top down and the outside in. Love was the message, but power/control was the method. Holiness was in great part defined as respect for outer mediating structures: the authorities that “knew,” the rituals that were automatic, the laws that kept you if you kept them, the Tradition that was supposed to be the unbroken consensus of many centuries and cultures. I am convinced that the best top-down Christianity can do is get us off to a good start and keep us inside the ballpark, which isn’t bad! But it is not close to satisfactory for the great struggles of faith that people today face in family, morality, and society. (Rohr, 2023)
We seek Wisdom, guided by the Spirit, to be open to increased understanding and acceptance of how the Love of God is expressed to the world through our faith and action.
References
Crawford, D. (2023, October 16). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved October 16, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/101623.html
Luke, CHAPTER 11 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 16, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/11?
Meditation on Romans 1:1-7. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved October 16, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/10/16/806490/
Psalms, PSALM 98 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 16, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/98?1
Rohr, R. (2023, October 16). Love and Power — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved October 16, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/love-and-power/
Romans, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 16, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/romans/1?1
Schwager, D. (2019, March 9). This Is an Evil Generation; It Seeks a Sign. Daily Scripture net. Retrieved October 16, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=oct16
No comments:
Post a Comment